SkatingChina interview with Brian Orser

[Heloise2700]

Hi, long time no see and it's me again. Last time I posted an interview with Denis Ten and returned to my normal, trivial, uneventful life. A half year later, at Cup of China 2015, I had the chance to do an interview with Brian Orser, the coach at Cricket Club, for SkatingChina.com. Below is the link of the English version and hope you'll enjoy it.

Highlights: training methods and timetable at Cricket, Orser's notion of a good skater, funny anecdotes of the skaters.

https://skatingchina.com/2015/11/brian-orser-we-all-speak-the-language-of-figure-skating-english/

And one anecdote, just for fun: I asked Brian if the cartoonish tissue boxes had become an emotional bond of his skaters, and he said, 'Javi and Nam do it just for fun. I think they want to play a trick on me. But Yuzu is quite serious with that.'

Ask me if there are further questions.


XXX

 

[alia jackson]

Thanks Heloise2700 for a great interview :thumbsup:

 

[OS]

Thanks for the great read Heloise2700. I notice you are from Ireland, I am just curious is this your personal blog/project or are you affiliate with the Chinese Figure Skating federation?

I suppose this is the first real confirmation Jun Hwan Cha is now his student. I am quite intrigued by this youngster from Korea, he remind me a little of watching the 13 years old young Hanyu in that they seems so ease one with the ice and skate with such conviction and purpose so early on. The sort of wild and raw quality I like.

Speaking of the young Korean pupil Jun Hwan Cha, Orser is visibly appreciative. Having met and talked with him in a previous competition, Orser admitted that he was intrigued by Cha's techniques and genuine expression of his choreography, which was coming out of his body. 'Even though he's only thirteen, he really does skate like senior. I haven't been this excited for a long time.' The young boy broke his foot in the summer, but won the Autumn Classic Junior in October.

I'd like to know of his plan for Alaine Charterand and the 3A, realistic or overly ambitious. Who's decision.

 

[lyndichee]

This is a really great article. Thank you so much for sharing. I love how he talks about his skaters and their growth. Javi sounds so adorable and I can't wait to see Cha Jun Hwan more on the international scene.

 

[Alex D]

Thank you! Was a great read!

 

[Heloise2700]

Thanks for the great read Heloise2700. I notice you are from Ireland, I am just curious is this your personal blog/project or are you affiliate with the Chinese Figure Skating federation?

I suppose this is the first real confirmation Jun Hwan Cha is now his student. I am quite intrigued by this youngster from Korea, he remind me a little of watching the 13 years old young Hanyu in that they seems so ease one with the ice and skate with such conviction and purpose so early on. The sort of wild and raw quality I like.



I'd like to know of his plan for Alaine Charterand and the 3A, realistic or overly ambitious. Who's decision.

Thank you very much for your reply. I was in Ireland last year, but I'm currently in Beijing, and may go elsewhere, maybe to the States in the near future. I've no affiliation with the Chinese federation. Figure skating journalism is a hobby and part-time job, and I do it mostly because I enjoy it. Many thanks to the two Chinese figure skating websites who have employed me. XD

According to Orser, he was excited about Cha, saw his videos, and they met at the competition and talked about coaching. We saw Brian with Jun Hwan at SCAC, but couldn't see much news about this young boy, so we asked. And personally speaking, yes, he reminds me of young Hanyu in some way.

Sorry for not being able to answer the question about Alaine Charterand and the 3A. Her 3A shocked me, but we only have thirty minutes with Brian before he leaves for his flight (but he was very nice and patient and talked a lot), so there was not no time after he mentioned so many things in their training. I'll ask him when I have another chance.

 

[Jaana]

Thanks so much for the great interview! I always love to read what Orser is saying.

 

[Heloise2700]

This is a really great article. Thank you so much for sharing. I love how he talks about his skaters and their growth. Javi sounds so adorable and I can't wait to see Cha Jun Hwan more on the international scene.

Javi sounds adorable: agreed. He still has to pay his tuition fees now, and he still does not attend the morning training (trains in the afternoon). That's his style. I interviewed Javi as well, but recently in China we have so many articles about him, so I've decided to postpone a little bit.

 

[HanDomi]

I agree Jun Hwan Cha looks like small Hanyu. Will be interesting to see his development :agree2:

 

[tzazu]

Thank you, a great interview!

 

[Jombi]

Thank you for the interview, great job!

 

[MaureenKB]

Great interview. Thanks so much for sharing.

 

[Ophelia]

When did Orser get Jun Hwan Cha? Goodness. I'm interested to see Orser will continue his streak of having a pupil win the OGM at the next two Winter Olympics.

 

[Interspectator]

Thanks for posting this interview. Interesting points and Lol at Javi and Nam teasing Brian with their tissue cases. Poor Brian!

Brian's confusion about what an Onmyouji is, is pretty typical and basically what I expected when SEIMEI was chosen for the music.
I don't think it will matter too much for the casual spectators as long as Yuzu gets the elements done well. I guess Yuzu really did strike out on his own for the music and theme of the program with Shae Lynn this time.
Does Brian just oversee the technical portions of training? Make sure Yuzu is fit and can jump at the right times and is getting proper levels on everything?
I wonder if Brian chose Nam's music? This year, I feel a real struggle for Nam to present his programs well. They seem too old for him. He got some flak last season for being too junior-ish but his programs suited him. He's still young, so he needs youthful programs.

 

[yude]

Thank you very much for your great article!! I'm always amazed by how well Brian interacts with international students

 

[Heloise2700]

Thanks for posting this interview. Interesting points and Lol at Javi and Nam teasing Brian with their tissue cases. Poor Brian!

Brian's confusion about what an Onmyouji is, is pretty typical and basically what I expected when SEIMEI was chosen for the music.
I don't think it will matter too much for the casual spectators as long as Yuzu gets the elements done well. I guess Yuzu really did strike out on his own for the music and theme of the program with Shae Lynn this time.
Does Brian just oversee the technical portions of training? Make sure Yuzu is fit and can jump at the right times and is getting proper levels on everything?
I wonder if Brian chose Nam's music? This year, I feel a real struggle for Nam to present his programs well. They seem too old for him. He got some flak last season for being too junior-ish but his programs suited him. He's still young, so he needs youthful programs.

Brian's confusion actually did provoked some discussion in China since the release of this article, and someone just guessed that maybe Yuzu did not bother so much to explain, or when he explained to his coach, he made a comparison between Seimei and a samurai, as the onmyoji in the movie also has a fighting spirit. They told me there was an NHK programme about Yuzu's Seimei mentioning the spirit of samurai, which was dubbed into English and Brian was likely to watch it. It was a long detective story. XD But personally speaking, I can't agree more that it does not matter so much so long as Yuzu can perform well. And Shae-Lynn was quite cool to research the movie and the Noh theatre, as it is said.

Judging by what he said, Brian mostly oversees the technical portions of training. He has a team, and everyone has his own responsibility. His is the technical part. I don't think he will choose music for Nam, maybe just suggestions. I actually asked how he communicated with his students, since figure skating was such a complicated sport which involved artistic expression, but he didn't mention that much except that they spoke the same language of figure skating, and that he could show them on the ice. So I guess (which is personal, again) he trusts the athletes and the choreographers very much. And after all, artistry is not just interpretation of the programmes. Brian seems to be sensitive to body movements.

By the way, I'm wondering if I'm being unprofessional by leaking information unsaid in the article and giving personal opinions, but it's really nice to talk with you here. Let me be a pure skating fan for a while.

XXX

 

[kiches]

Thank you for posting the interview (and the fun anecdote!).

Also agree that whether or not Brian fully understands what an onmyouji is doesn't really matter. I think it goes back Yuzuru's decision to have Shae-Lynn choreograph the routine to help make it more accessible to non-Japanese audience.

I do wonder about Nam's program choices this year, I think during his interview with The Skating Lesson this past summer it seemed as if the themes or music selection aren't decided by himself. I think he revealed that he hadn't even seen La Strada (and that David Wilson told him to, but he didn't actually watch it). When he was talking about his programs this season he just said that he was told they were going to be really deep, and that's all he knew at that point.

 

[matmuh]

thanks for the great interview!!
its not mentiones on the article but did you talk about Elizabet?

 

[sses1]

I do wonder about Nam's program choices this year, I think during his interview with The Skating Lesson this past summer it seemed as if the themes or music selection aren't decided by himself. I think he revealed that he hadn't even seen La Strada (and that David Wilson told him to, but he didn't actually watch it). When he was talking about his programs this season he just said that he was told they were going to be really deep, and that's all he knew at that point.

I think the general consensus by his coaches was to make him more mature on the ice and then his choreographers chose the music. David Wilson picked Killing Fields because he likes the music and Jeff picked Pasacagalia. I bet they're rethinking those choices right now. Shae should work with Nam next season for at least the short since she can choreograph fun programs that aren't obnoxious.

 

[lyndichee]

Javi sounds adorable: agreed. He still has to pay his tuition fees now, and he still does not attend the morning training (trains in the afternoon). That's his style. I interviewed Javi as well, but recently in China we have so many articles about him, so I've decided to postpone a little bit.

Sounds like Javi's style haha. I can't wait for your next article!